


see you in the morning

by adamantine



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 10:59:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4519302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamantine/pseuds/adamantine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is back in Iwatobi for winter break but Haru is still stuck in Tokyo finishing up final exams. </p>
<p>For Day 2 of For the Future (Distance, Letters/Technology).</p>
            </blockquote>





	see you in the morning

Haru tapped his foot against the floor of the train. None of the passengers around him took notice of it, but he knew if any of his friends were there they would have been shocked to see him so restless. Maybe not Makoto — _he_ probably would have given Haru a look of amusement that said he knew exactly why Haru couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat.

Rin was back in Japan, staying with his mother and Gou in Iwatobi while Haru was trapped in Tokyo finishing up the semester.

_Unbelievable. Unfair._ Why the hell did Australia’s winter break start so early anyway? (Was it technically summer break?) Rin hadn’t come home right away either; he had stayed in Australia for some local competition.

However, for the past week the ocean that separated them was now only a few hundred miles of land and Haru tried his best not to scream in frustration. He had a semester’s worth of information to parrot back if he wanted to pass his classes and keep swimming. He had to be _responsible_.

But now it was finally over and he was on his way home from his last exam of the year. Back at his apartment his suitcase was packed, with a ticket for the overnight bus on top of it. He had purchased it almost immediately after Rin suggested spending their break together.

Something in his stomach fluttered when he thought about getting to see Rin in the morning. Not only that, but he would be staying _with_ Rin, in his home (in his room?). When Rin had asked Haru about his plans for the holidays, Haru had let it slip that he was thinking of staying in Tokyo for New Year's since his parents weren’t bothering to stop by their Iwatobi residence this year. They were going on vacation to some tropical island.

“Haruka, you don’t mind do you?” his mother had asked over the phone. “Of course not,” he had replied. He meant it. He was used to them being free spirits, as Makoto put it. Still, the thought of spending his short break in an empty house no one had stepped foot in since Obon repulsed something in Haru. He could have stayed at the Tachibana’s, but that would have felt ridiculous to him when his own house was next door. Staying with Rin was different; Rin’s mother lived across town, away from the coast and away from the oppressive silence of Haru’s childhood home.

At least that’s what Haru told himself — but deep down he knew if Rin hadn’t offered up his home, Haru would have gone back to Iwatobi anyway. He would probably go anywhere for Rin.

 

 

When the train reached his stop, Haru bolted out of his seat, alarming a salaryman next to him who had fallen asleep. He apologized and left the train as quickly as he could. When his apartment building was in sight, he broke into a sprint. He didn’t care what the people around him thought. He couldn’t get to Rin fast enough.

After taking his shoes and coat off, Haru scrambled for his cell phone. It was rare for Haru to be without it these days but today, in his nervousness, he had left it on the kitchen counter. When he opened it, there were messages from almost everyone he knew, wishing him good luck on his last exam. But there was one name in particular he was searching for.

_Good luck on your last exam~!_ _I’ll see you in the morning!_

Rin had sent him the message while Haru had been on the train to school. Haru typed out a reply in return.

_I left my phone at home. I think my exam went well. See you soon_.

That wasn’t bad right? Haru was trying his best to keep in touch with Rin, not like the last time they were separated, but he still struggled to express himself with words. It was easier for him to get his meaning across when he was with Rin: when he was looking into his eyes, when he was holding on to his arm, when he was pressed against him— Haru pinched his face to keep his thoughts from wandering. He still had dinner to deal with before heading out.

 

 

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. Haru arrived at the bus station with plenty of time to spare and ended up the second person to climb aboard (he let a little old lady go before him). He had trouble falling asleep surrounded by snoring people he didn’t know, but the fear of being too tired to enjoy his first day with Rin gave him strength.

When the bus reached Tottori the next morning, Haru climbed off and tried to speed walk past the crowd towards the train that went into Iwatobi. He was almost there, he was almost with Rin. He broke through the crowd and picked up his pace.

“Haru!” That was strange, he thought he heard his name. “Haru! HARU!” Haru turned to see Rin running towards him, waving his arms — his hair disheveled in a way that made Haru want to run his fingers through it.

“Rin!?” Haru’s eyes widened in surprise. Did Rin always look this good? He made a mental note to tell Rin to buy a better webcam; it wasn’t doing him justice.

“No, it’s Gou. We’ve switched bodies,” Rin said after catching his breath.

“Oh.”

“That was a joke.”

“I know.”

After a few moments of what Haru hoped was silence, because if it wasn’t that meant Rin could hear his beating heart, Rin scrunched up his face. “You didn’t get my text, did you?”

Haru tilted his head in confusion and pulled out his phone to see two messages waiting for him. One was from Makoto telling him he’d be in Iwatobi on Sunday and the other from Rin: _I woke up early~_ _I’ll meet you when you get off the bus!_ “I had my phone on silent, I forgot.”

“I should’ve figured.”

“I didn’t expect to see you until I got to Iwatobi,” Haru said flatly. When Rin winced, Haru felt something stab his chest.

“Sorry,” Rin’s voice took on a strained quality as he spoke, “I was just… I wanted… I’m an early riser you know,” he ended weakly. Haru wanted a do-over. He wanted to get back on that bus and this time look at his cell phone. He wanted to greet Rin with a smile; he wanted his chest to stop hurting.

“I ran home,” Haru blurted out, “I wanted to see you already, so I ran home. My dinner had no flavor. I slept even though there was an old man snoring next to me.” Haru wasn’t sure if he was making any sense — Rin was looking at him like he had sprouted an extra head, and that extra head was a giant mackerel — but he needed Rin to know how much he missed him. _Oh_ , Haru thought. _Maybe I should just say that._ “I missed you.”

Rin’s mouth opened in an “O” shape and his face began to redden. He looked away from Haru for a second, composing himself, before replying, “Why do you always have to say such embarrassing things?”

“I’m not embarrassed.” Haru wondered if Rin’s face felt as warm as it looked.

“You should be!” Even though he sounded angry, Haru noticed Rin’s mouth seemed to be twitching upward against his will.

“Rin.”

“What?” Rin was definitely grinning now.

“If you don’t hurry up, the train will leave us behind.” With that he spun around and walked back in the direction of the train. He could hear Rin swear before running to catch up with him.

“It’s not like there won’t be another train.”

“It’s cold,” Haru lied and used his scarf to cover up his face. There was a warm feeling spreading throughout him from his core.

“Hmm.” Rin hummed. His ears were still red when Haru snuck a glance at him.

“Hold my hand.” Haru expected Rin to protest — half hoped he would see Rin’s face light up in a splash of color again — but instead Rin’s goofy grin got worse.

“Okay.” Rin held out his hand.

“Hmph.” Haru felt himself pout as he took Rin’s hand.

“What?” Rin looked at him curiously.

“You need a better webcam.”

“Huh?”

“I want to see your face more clearly.” When Rin continued to look at him puzzled, Haru clarified what he meant. “For webcam sex.”

Rin’s shriek made Haru’s heart soar. When he realized Rin hadn’t let go of his hand — not even after they started walking again, Rin muttering something about destroying his webcam the moment he got back to Australia — Haru felt thankful for the scarf still covering up his face. He was sure his smile was wider than Rin’s.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope there aren't any typos but editing your own work at 3:00AM isn't the best idea .___.


End file.
